You might know Activision Blizzard as the mega-publisher behind huge franchises like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. And you might know King as the mobile publisher behind Candy Crush Saga, the Bejeweled clone that's inexplicably become one of the most popular casual games on the planet. In a few months the two companies will be one and the same: Activision Blizzard has announced its intention to acquire King for a staggering $5.9 billion.

For comparison, that's approximately six times what Facebook famously paid to acquire mobile photo sharing app Instagram. Activision currently has practically zero presence on the mobile game front with the notable exception of free-to-play collectible card game Hearthstone, while King's various games across Android, iOS, Windows, and web platforms have amassed hundreds of millions of downloads and billions of dollars in revenue from in-app purchases.

King has been making headlines lately thanks to trademark claims that are, frankly, insane. But it looks like the creators of Candy Crush Saga are doing something right: the Wall Street Journal reports that the company is filing for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, preparing to sell as much as $500 million in initial stock.

King's collection of simple Facebook, iOS, and Android games are almost entirely driven by the free-to-play model, with headliner Candy Crush Saga being downloaded more than 100 million times on Android alone. The company has also become a lightning rod for controversy ever since it won extremely broad trademark claims on the term "Candy" (applied to video games and clothing) in January.

Quick, what's the most hated company in mobile gaming today? If you answered EA, Zynga, or Gamevil, well, you might be right. But the answer I was looking for was "King," creator of Candy Crush Saga and two of the most ridiculous copyright stories in recent memory. After the company trademarked the word "Candy" in all applications for video games and apparel, a few cheeky developers decided to risk the wrath of King's lawyers and release candy-themed apps on iOS and Android. Intern Saga: Trademark Lawyer takes a (slightly) more subtle approach to its parody.

Intern Saga comes from The Men Who Wear Many Hats, creators of the equally quirky Organ Trail.

Candy Crush Saga has three words in the title, but game developer King only got a trademark approved for the first one. That doesn't mean, however, that the second two are fair game. It turns out a few weeks ago King filed a Notice of Opposition with the USPTO regarding someone else's trademark request. The application in question was for The Banner Saga, a turn-based PC RPG. King objects because it includes the word 'saga.' Yes, seriously.

It's important to note that the development house behind The Banner Saga (Stoic) is not seeking a trademark simply on the word 'saga,' but the entire name of its game.

The US Patent and Trademark Office, in its infinite and infallible wisdom, has opted to approve a trademark filing from King, the developer of the wildly popular game Candy Crush Saga. King was seeking a trademark on the word 'candy' in the context of games and clothing (for some reason), and it appears the attorney who examined the request thought King had a sufficiently strong case, so here we are.

Apparently simventure is quickly becoming its own genre. Today's latest entry into this crossover category is Kingdoms & Lords from Gameloft, which has finally hit release after being announced back in June. Part of the game will take place in a simulated kingdom (spoilers, I know). You'll spend your time managing your economy "on a daily basis", as the description on the Play Store is quick to point out. Hopefully this won't be the Farmville-ian style where, if you cease to play for a few hours, your kingdom dies. After all, plants may need watering, but these peasants ought to be able to fend for themselves.